Image processing and sensors are now encountered in almost all areas of science and engineering. This trend has been fuelled by a number of factors, including the shift toward automation in the production of increasingly compact systems, the growth in mass production in increasingly larger volumes, and the desire to improve quality controls. A variety of Steinbeis experts look at current developments and examine the trends that are likely or possible in the future. Professor Dr. Jörg Eberhardt, director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Vision Systems, reports on current trends in industrial image processing and even dares to offer his prognosis for the future of the industry. The fact that sensors can also be used in the great outdoors is demonstrated by Professor Dr. Uwe Schmidt, who heads up the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Energy – Environment – Information. Professor Dr.-Ing. habil. Hagen Malberg, director of the Steinbeis Research Center for Applied Medical Technology, describes technological trends and developments in the field of medical sensors. The director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Image Processing and Applied Information Technology, Professor Dr. Ulrich Klauck, provides an overview of image processing developments in recent years. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Wolf from the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Cell Chip Technologies and Christian Scholze, the Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Medical Electronics, take a look at the development of intelligent implants. The article featuring Prof. Dr. Dietrich Hofmann, director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Quality Assurance and Quality Measuring Systems, and his partners in the SpectroNet business cluster reveals how photonic microsensors and digital image processing can be used with the aid of SmartPads. In addition, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Leize of the Steinbeis Transfer Center called Sensorics and Information Systems – SensIn’ teams up with Dr. Marc Schöttler of Phrealog to present another field of application for sensors: the detection of groundwater movements. In an interview with Steffen Lübbecke, managing director of Steinbeis Qualitätssicherung und Bildverarbeitung GmbH, Lübbecke discusses the exciting connection between quality and image processing.
